Computerized learning technologies have been evolving and gaining popularity over the last several decades, generally computer learning devices and techniques developed in step with the development of computer and related technology. Consider, for example, the system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,453, Spiece. This system is a stand-alone computer that presents prerecorded lessons to the student, and allows the student to take tests using the computer. The application for the Spiece patent was filed in 1983, a time in which personal computers were relatively new to the world, and in which video discs were used to present movies and the like. Hence, Spiece uses video discs and a personal computer in its education system.
As telecommunications technology developed, more interactive learning systems began to develop to permit lecturers to present lessons and/or materials to students located in remote locations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,957, Young, for example, allows a presenter at one location to control the presentation to students at remote locations. The control is achieved by the use of control signals sent over communications lines. Other “live” interactive education systems include those of U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,472, Shapiro; U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,836, Ryu et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,042, Lewis et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,788, Lemelson et al.
With the availability of the Internet, many “distance learning” systems have been put into place, and distance learning may, in fact, be one of the fastest growing applications of communications technology. Many educational institutions, including but not limited to colleges and universities, are instituting learning programs over the Internet. Internet training can be made available to students at any time in any location. Students no longer need to travel to specific classroom sites. Thus, the cost of delivery of such online education systems is significantly less than the cost of traditional classroom education. A teaching institution no longer needs a building to house the classroom. If teachers are required, they need only make their lecture once, and that lecture can be recorded, stored, and used over and over again, if appropriate. Materials can be developed for use with a course that are used over and over again. In fact, it may be easier to continue to improve the “class” in an online application due to the fact that the class can be reviewed by appropriate authorities, measurements can be put into place to test the effectiveness of the class, and consistency is easier to achieve due to the use of electronic means.
Various governments have recognized the importance of distance learning in continuing to educate their citizens. The Congress of the United States, for example, formed a Web-based Education Commission to evaluate and make recommendations about education over the Internet. The Commission stated, “The question is no longer if the Internet can be used to transform learning in new and powerful ways. The Commission has found that it can . . . Nor is the question, ‘Should we invest the time, the energy and the money defining and shaping new learning opportunity?’ The commission believes we should.” Panel urges expansion of online education, “The Indianapolis Star”, Dec. 20, 2000, page A7. The Commission asked for increased federal research in online education to determine the best use of computers in learning, and asked that there be “changes in federal regulations that limit financial aid for students who take college courses over the Web. A growing number of students, particularly older, nontraditional ones, are taking courses online.” Id.
One of the challenges in delivery of training via the Internet is to insure delivery of the content in the context of a certain time frame. In other words, how does the educator insure that the student has proceeded through the course without skipping or skimming the content presented? How does the educator ensure that the student attended the course for the requisite time? Formal education and many industries require that students log a certain number of hours of training to be considered to have completed the course, or to be certified or licensed to practice. In a traditional classroom setting, for example, the student must attend a specified number of class hours. If the student misses too many hours of class, they may have to withdraw from the course or receive an “incomplete grade”, for example.
One of the growing areas of education relates to continuing professional education. Forty-six states have requirements for continuing education of their teachers. Id. States have requirements that lawyers, accountants, and other professionals continue to take courses to continue to be admitted to practice his/her profession in that state. Many states require certified child care providers to have a certain number of qualified personnel on their staff, with the qualification for such personnel including a specified number of hours of initial and/or continuing education, also referred to as pre-service and/or in-service training, respectively. While the requirements regarding type of education, the type of courses, the number of hours of training, and the base time for completing the specified number of hours may vary across states and for different professions or occupations, key to most continuing education requirements is the need to “attend” classes, often for a specified number of hours.
Because it is difficult to ensure that a student has “attended” remote education class, many states or regulatory authorities have not permitted training by remote sources to qualify for satisfaction of the requirements for initial and/or continuing education classes. Instead, students are often only permitted to audit a course provided online without the grant of credit for the course. The reason for this course credit limitation is because there generally is no mechanism for making certain that the student did not skip or skim through the lesson, or did not simply start the lesson and walk away. Consider, for example, the child care education sites of Learning Options and ECE Training, or the technical training sites of Element K, LLC and Click2Learn, Inc. These systems present textual and/or graphic slides through which the student can advance at their own pace. The educator does not control the pace at which the student takes the course, and, therefore, the educator cannot be assured that the student attends the course for a requisite minimum time frame. While the prior art systems may test the student based on material presented, a student could, conceivably, just guess at the answers and be deemed to have successfully completed the course. An educator may want to make certain that a student earns his/her grades by completing a required minimum time attendance (minimum number of hours). Thus, it is desired to provide an online education system and method which ensures that the student “attended” the class for a desired time. Such a system and method would result in more accurate teaching of student outcomes for the course, greater confidence in the integrity of the course, and the educator being willing to accept a certificate of completion or the course meeting requirements, and subsequently granting course credit.
The immediacy of the Internet gives rise to another issue. It is not uncommon for a student to procrastinate in completing a course. Thus, if a student is required to take continuing professional education courses during a certain base time period, the student may wait to the last possible moment within that base time period to take the course. For example, if child care providers are required to complete a certain number of continuing education credits before the end of the calendar year, it is not uncommon for a student to wait until late December to fulfill those obligations. Because the credits are often necessary for certification, continued employment, and continued operation of the child care center, it is important that the completion of the course(s) by the student, even if at the last possible moment, be acknowledged. Therefore, it is desired to provide an online system and method for immediate acknowledgement of completion of the course, particularly, if a regulating body may require proof of such completion.